Simple, elegant, and fresh describe Cai perfectly. This spacious, well-decorated restaurant is probably the only one that can compete with Ming Hin at the moment in terms of variety of dishes in Chinatown Square. The amount of excellent dishes here is so numerous that you could come back every day of the week and be surprised on every visit.
What truly sets Cai apart is its impressive dedication to quality food. Dishes come hot, fresh, and delicious. Rice crepes are always bouncy, buns are sweet and chewy, each dish comes at the right flavor, texture, and temperature.
Here are some dishes that really stood out for me:
Super Har-gow jumbo shrimp dumpling: Think you've had har-gow? Your har-gow experiences aren't complete until you've tried this. The jumbo shrimp adds an extra sweetness and bounciness that redefines this classic dish.
Steamed beef meat ball /w minced vegetable: This is less salty than others I've had at nearby dim sum restaurants. The bouncy texture of the beef is really enjoyable.
Steamed chicken feet with Peking sauce: Really tasty, really good texture on the feet. It's hard to describe this dish exactly, but it's something you could eat as a comfort food with a whole bowl of rice.
Papaya with custard cake: Even with the excellent St. Anna bakery nearby, don't leave before you've tried this. It's light, smooth, and fluffy with just the right amount of fresh papaya.
(30) "Celery with shrimp"/Shrimp rice crepe: The rice noodle is warm, elastic, and fresh. It's so hard to find this done well outside of Chinatown, it's worth it to eat as much as you can from anywhere within Chinatown if you're in the area. This is just another excellent version.
Crispy Taro with chicken dumplings: Wow... WOW! This item is worth the entire trip alone. The last time I remember being impressed with this was from a very nice dim sum place in Calgary, I have longed to find another comparable version in Chicago. The chicken inside is flavored perfectly with a perfect ratio of taro root to give the item a kind of gooey/mushy texture. Combine that with a delicate, crispy exterior and you have a winning combination. This item is not to be missed on any trip.
Fried sticky dumpling with chicken: On a guilty pleasure scale, this is equal to the item above. Get this in place of or in addition to the crispy taro (this is one of the cheapest items on the menu as well!). If you like lotus leaf sticky rice, this has a similar interior but the crispy exterior provides excellent texture contrast.
BBQ Pork turnover: This item is just great on so many levels. I grew up on char siu bao and fatty pork so this brought a smile to my face as soon as I took a bite. This is a crispy puff pastry with sweet bbq pork inside. The bbq pork is a little sweeter than what you'll find in most bbq places (unless you've been to Toronto recently), but the flavor matches perfectly when eaten together with the pastry.
Their non dim sum dishes such as lotus root stir-fried special and stir-fried sticky rice with Chinese sausage are good as well.
It's probably a good thing I don't live in Chinatown since I can't resist the abundance of superb dishes at this restaurant. But when I have the chance to visit here, I savor every bite and keep thinking about what I want to try on the next visit.
I haven't had Dim Sum in a while and last week we came down to Cai a little after lunch. Their hours said Dim Sum was served until four but there wasn't a cart going around and so we just ordered off their menu, but then we had people come by offering plates of..stuff.
I'm not Chinese, but I can play one on tv so it was an awkward experience with waitstaff flashing small plates of food in my face saying something in Chinese and then looking at me expectantly to answer yes or no in Chinese, instead I'd just shake my head yes or no.
Oh hey, speaking of weird service one of the servers spilled water all over one of our party and...that was about it. She kind of mumbled sorry and then just walked off.
We did order a few different dumplings which were all tasty but I couldn't really tell you what it was unless the menu was in front of me, as well as a few plates we did nod yes to.
I can say for certain that the black bean chicken and the chicken feet are outstanding. I don't know if there's ever a non-busy time but if there is, that's when I'll want to come by next time.
Cai is my goto place in Chinatown. Not only they have good HK style Dim Sum for breakfast / lunch.
Their dinner menu is also one fo the best in town. Love the different variety of seafood, steam Red Snapper, scallop with black bean sauce, walnut shrimp, and lobster noodle.
Not to mention Peking duck  ...
This is still the classiest room for dim sum in town. Going there on a week day morning assured that we encountered no wait lines. We were immediately seated.
The hope a year ago for a 2nd visit to Cai was for this one to involve a large group. But today's impromptu get-together was just the two of us. So our selected dim sum order contained a couple of favorite dishes and a half-dozen new ones. Cai's dim sum menu has changed only minimally over these 12 months; 5 brand new items and 2 slightly different ones among the (still) total of *72, which continues to include 6 which are bowls of congee (porridge). Of the 8 dishes that we chose, only one of them was one of these new items.
We were offered a choice of tea and so asked for Pu-erh. This came loose in the steeped tea pot, so even with careful and gentle pouring, some of the twigs, etc. wound up in our earless demitasse cups.
One good thing that hasn't changed is the cost per dish. All 5 dish size categories remain priced as they were in 2012. You may find Cai's method of tallying what is ordered and served oddly unconnected to the presentation of the bill. Immediately after you place your order, a printed list in Chinese and English is placed on the table (even before food arrives). As dishes are served, the wait staff marks off what was delivered. Later, we were asked if we were ready to pay. But no calculated tab was presented (a tab would be expected to include the cost per dish, a subtotal, and taxes). Their practice seems to be expecting that you will pay with plastic and not with cash. Once you hand them your card, they go off and return with the expected bill for you to review, add a tip, total, and sign. Next time, we'll try challenging them on this.
While Chicago's Loop remains one of the most expensive places to park your car, here in Chinatown Square's internal parking spots (with city metering), it's a reasonable $2/hour.
*Even though their picture menu "placemat" shows items numbered from 01 to 96, there are 6 breaks in the count so that only 72 items are actually shown (in a grid of 9 across by 8 down). Tricky!
This place for being in Chinatown was nothing special. What was even worse was the customer service. Each order that was brought to the table, when we were asking the servers which order it was they couldn't answer in English. Not only was the language barrier a challenge but they messed up our order a few times so it was a constant battle. Food was nothing out of the ordinary, I have been to way better restaurants in Chinatown with better food and service.
Review Source:This is a big Chinese restaurant with rather unfriendly ambiance. The food on the menu is limited and people working barely understand the orders. Their English is really limited so even when they deliver the food they can't say what it is. When asked a question they shout something in Chinese and leave. The food ended up ok (not great). I would definitely not recommend this place, especially with so many nice Chinese restaurants in Chinatown.
Review Source:One of the only places in Chinatown that has xiaolongbao on weeknights at 10pm. Triple Crown does not serve it at night and Lao Shanghai closes at 10pm.
My friend and I had a craving so we drove to Chinatown. Upon discovering the restaurants did not serve our dimsum dish of choice, we called around and the woman on the phone was fantastic!
"WE HAVE, YOU COME NOW!" heck yeah! We ordered 4 plates of xiaolongbao (they are like dumplings you dip in vinegar- mouthgasm), some desserts and a plate of shiu mai (another dimsum dish). They sold out of pork belly but the image on their menu looked really good!
The dessert was delicious, the orange pop (yes- pop-not-soda) was served in fancy glasses, and the pricetag per person was under 20.00 (without tip!).
Minus one star because they told us they have a 20.00 min credit card charge per person (my friend and I split our 40.00 meal).
Overall the ambiance was pretty, the food was decent. Service was okay- one waiter was really nice and the other one seemed distracted.
Note:
They DO NOT take AMEX!
Wow.. there are a bunch of new classy restaurants that have popped up in Chicago Chinatown. Â Is this Chicago's attempt to have nice places (besides Three Happiness and Phoenix) to have wedding banquets? Â Let's be honest.. these places are just newer versions that are just as dirty!
Although I do like Chinatown.. I think I have been spoiled eating in NYC (Flushing), Boston (sadly I would say it's better), and LA (yup.. it's better). Â
The dimsum was really very middle of the road. Â Most things were okay to bad... let's see what was BAD: Â turnip cake (not crispy at all.. did they just steam it), vegetarian rice noodle (very meh with the tofu.. they should have replaced with mushroom), shrimp rice noodle (cold), pork spare rib rice clay pot (wth is there an olive in here? Â That's a different twist but it just doesn't belong in there).
Then my family decided to go there for the set menu for Chinese New Year. Â It was $149 for a 6 course menu for 6 people. Â Most of the food was just okay... so let's see:
- Peking duck... good but to be honest.. they didn't even expertly carve the duck. Â It's supposed to be just skin traditionally. Â They just get some joker to come out and cut 12 slices of skin and meat off the duck
- Soup with fish maw.. it's better in Boston. Â Not enough flavor.
- Pig feet with bok choy.. bok choy was way over cooked.. pig feet was good but not terribly flavorful
- Lobster.. really? Â Come on.. that is one tiny lobster.. oily.. go to Boston for this!
- Chicken.. very standard
- Duck in lettuce cups... duck was cold... there was bone in it. Â Meh.. felt like I was at Pf Chang's
- Shrimp and walnut.. standard dish except the shrimp was breaded. Â That's the first time I have ever had that and it was NOT good.
- Dessert was a sweet red bean soup.. standard again.
Had to flag them multiple times.. I know they are busy.. typical Asian restaurant unless you know the waitstaff.
Oh P.S... they do NOT make their own peking duck. Â They buy it from Sun Wah. Â If that's what you like.. you probably should go there instead. Â
I am not in Chicago as much anymore.. but I think I'll try something else next time. Â At least a place that brings the food out hot.
Who wouldnt want dimsum on Chinese New Years weekend??? This girl over here!
This is my 3rd time eating here. First time = horrible service. Second time = Food made up for bad service. Third time = worst service ever and okay food.
I understand you're a busy restaurant, but you could try to be organized. The bar area  on the right hand side was a freak'n mess. A double dozen or so dirty glasses sat on the counter for the whole time we waited for a table. Behind the counter there were scattered opened boxes and large containers piled everywhere (posted the picture on yelp) that made me want to turn back around and run to Minghin. Does this place meet food code standards?
We finally got seated. Then waited forever to get service. I was mostly looking forward to Cai's soup dumplings, because NYC Joe's Shanghai got me hooked like a bad addiction. Unfortunately all 8 of our soup dumplings were all busted up. The skins were torn and no soup inside. Disappointed.
The rest of the food was not bad, but the lack of any attention from any of the waiters makes this restaurant not worth going to again...ever ever ever again. I'm sticking to Minghin.
This place was awesome!! After eating at all the best dim sum places in the SF Bay Area, I was prepared for a let down when I came here while visiting my parents. However, this place not only totally exceeded my expectations, I have to say that it is completely on par if not better than most of the dim sum restaurants in the Bay Area!!! Every dish that arrived was a hit; savory, delicious and perfectly cooked without too much oiliness that so often ruins the dim sum experience for me. I am a convert to Chinese cuisine in Chicago and will definitely come back here on my next visit.
Review Source:Food quality and service has gone down the tubes. Â My friend took me here for my birthday per my request and it was not up to par. Â You Tiao (fried dough sticks) were cold and hard and the servers would not provide any condensed milk to go with this dish. Â Egg tarts were cold and flavorless. Â Dim Sum was just mediocre during this visit. Â Very disappointing. Â Further the servers were not attentive and had to be called over to request any thing.
Review Source:Went for dim sum. Service was horrible. Every table around us was waiting forever and when some of people's dishes came, it was the wrong order. Food itself was disgusting. Gave them benefit of the doubt as they are new, so came back for dinner. Same thing. Horrible service, horrible food. My cousin told me he went well after they opened and they placed him in the middle of the aisle and he is a big guy, so he blocked traffic. After he asked repeatedly to be moved, they place him at another table at an identical spot, where he clearly did not fit. Again, horrible service. Don't know how this place is still open.
Review Source:I have been to Cai Dim Sum and dinner many times.  Dim sum is served table side and the selection is very good.  The dumplings are fresh and hot. fried items are not greasy.  The steamed chicken and olive rice is very good and my friend always get one just for himself.  I attended a birthday party and it showed their service at its best  The Peking Duck was carved table side and served for it's second course as a lettuce wrap.  Lobster with salted egg yolk was very good.  A fresh fish fillet was served boneless and perfect.  The decor is brighter  then most Chinese restaurants and the place for dinner was full of large rounds. Not an intimate romantic atmosphere and geared for large tables.
Review Source:Went here last night for a group event. Our tables were neatly set and the staff seemed to be very nice and organized despite our large group filtering in over the course of an hour.
The food came out to each table at the same time and it was paced so that the table was never too cluttered. Even though there was a large Lazy Susan at each table, it was difficult to turn without knocking over the glasses and other things we had on our table.
To start our feast, we had spring rolls, crab rangoons, bbq pork buns, and fried dough. I enjoyed the spring rolls and crab rangoons, but would pass on the buns and dough. The buns did not have the ratio right and the dough literally taste like nothing.
For dinner we had more than any human should consume. I wanted to try a little of everything and even my modest portions of each left me overstuffed. The best dishes had to be the green beans, steamed veggies, and the schwinn chicken. The chicken was just spicy enough and the veggies were fresh and flavorful. The next best dishes were the duck lettuce wraps, Mongolian beef, and seaweed salad. The wraps were fresh, the beef was sweet and savory, and the salad was just salty enough with still being fresh and bright. On the bottom of my list, but still tasty was a noodle dish that just had a little too much oil, fried rice, and duck skin tacos.
The service was good, food was flavorful, and decor was bright and seemed authentic. I enjoyed my evening and will most definitely go back to try a few more dishes. The people I was with also left full and happy. Good place to bring a group of people. It is BYOB, so don't forget your favorite Chinese beer or rice wine.
When searching for dim sum restaurants in Chinatown, they tend to be either too expensive or not very tasty. Â However, Cai seems to be the perfect balance between cost and quality. We came on a Saturday morning and were greeted with a large crowd and a short wait. Â But after being seated, we ordered all the dim sum we wanted (via a menu rather than waiting and stalking the carts). Â The dishes tend to be amazing or something I wouldn't order again so be ready for some hit and miss. Â But when you get your check and its cheap, you understand why. Â The atmosphere is BUSY, but the dining room is beautiful. Â Cai is good, but not as amazing as Triple Crown Seafood. Â Reservations are accepted so I suggest making some.
Review Source:Ohhh, I wish I lived in Chinatown just for the fooood! All the food, as far as I can tell, is cooked fresh to your order! My co-worker invited me to go. First of all, be warned! It's really crowded and loud, but so worth it and so fun! It's a good laughing atmosphere. :)
We had shumai, ha gao, cha siu something or other (bbq pork in a rice noodle wrap? REALLY FILLING, DO NOT ORDER IF YOU HAVE A LOT ALREADY!!), korean bbq pork, red bean jello cake? Aaaah we ordered a lot because it all looked so good!! Be careful and take small bites, I totally burned my mouth on a shumai! XD But so good! (Except the red bean jello cake. Not too flavorful, would not recommend).
The waitress even handed me sugar crystals for our tea since she noticed I was an ABC and thought the tea would be too bitter, so nice! :)
Definitely come with some fun friends and get busy with some delicious dim sum!
Big clean restaurant above the Citibank. Â Go up the stairs in the mall area. Â Dim sum are yummy and plenty. Â Some other places cart them around for you to choose. Â While fun doing that, sometimes you get stuck eating stuff other people don't want. Â Here, you order from a sheet and they bring out the dim sum fresh from the kitchen. Â I think this is better! Â Go with a bunch of friends so you can try their dishes when they're not looking!!
Review Source:Dim sum is always hot, which I'm a fan of. Though once I received one of their coconut desserts which was completely stale-- I'll overlook it. All the stuff I've ordered off their dim sum menu are all very good.
This isn't a place to go for dinner though. There are far better options out there for dinner.
Good dim sum: Â most steamed dumplings, har gow, that molten egg yolk bun, thought their spare ribs were really fatty but it was steamed over pumpkin pieces which were delicious, not bad soup dumpling (xiao long bao), lots of non-dim sum dishes which I'd go back to try (they're on the backside of the menu), flavorful thousand egg & pork congee
Great service: Â take reservations, brought plastic fork & spoon for my 3 yr old without my asking, parking validation for the lot across the street
Randomly showed up around 10pm in Chinatown and saw this restaurant looked open (on the 2nd floor - lights were still on). So we decided to head in. Walked up - weird entrance, I will say.
And then we were amazed. The service was impeccable. Amazing. Like I can't stop talking about how well we were treated. And the food was delicious. Ordered hot & sour soup (which was 7/10), but the chilli/curry crab & lamb w scallions was 11/10 easily.
And this place is open til quite late so a good spot for the late night cravings too. Truly impressed & will definitely be heading back there!
First off, how do you pronounce the name of this place? Is it Kay like Mary Kay? Or like the Gangnam guy Psy?
At any rate, this is my new favorite dim sum place. Loved how there's l'il chunks of turnip in the turnip cakes, how the juk was loaded with lots of nummy bits of minced pork and 1K year old egg, and the dumplings were packed with flavorful starchy goodness. Nom nom nom!
Went there for Dim Sum and after waiting for a half hour after we placed our order  we decided to leave, especially when we notice that people who came in after us were already serve their food and we were still waiting. Â
To the other reviewers who say that this place is racist, let me tell you that unless you are seated with 10 other people in your party they ignore you whether your are Asian or not. Â We happen to be Asian, and my wife ordered everything in Chinese, it was just the two of us. Â I mentioned to her that they sat us at the CHEAP tables, the table without the gold covered seats.
There are plenty of Dim Sum places in Chinatown and we will never try this place ever again for any meals.
The lunch specials are the items to order from Cai. Â They are a good portion and the food is pretty authentic. Â The dim sum can be on the pricey side for Chinatown, but the quantity and quality seems to be a little better. Â The place is fairly large and can get noisy during the busy hours. Â Will return soon when I get tired of going to the cheap eats.
Review Source:I have mixed feelings about this place. Â The food was very good, it was cheap, cheap, cheap (under $15 a head for dim sum), the service was typical for dim sum (somewhere shy of what you'd expect at a sit-down restaurant) and the wait time was abysmal -- even with a reservation. Â We had 8 plus a baby in our party so the big round table was necessary in our case. Â Tables were very close together and packed so if you are expecting an intimate romantic experience go elsewhere. Â There's not as much cart service as I am used to at Furama, mostly you order off the picture menu, check off what you want and hand it to a waiter. Â I had a fun and left full, but that might have had more to do with the people I went with.
Food highlights: Â Sticky rice (item 09), fried taro ball (item 73), Xiao Long Bao - soup dumplings (item 2). Â
Word of warning: Â if you are vegetarian or allergic to shellfish you will not find much to eat here. Â We had a vegetarian in our party and even items like "Baked Chive Puffs" have pork in them. Â Waitstaff did not seem helpful when it came to this, and did not seem to understand "Does this have meat in it?"
5 stars for food.
2 stars for service.
Cai serves up some of the better higher end Cantonese food in Chicago's Chinatown. Â Think banquet food instead of noodles. Â The standouts were the steamed sea bass and tofu clay pot.
The tricky part is they definitely charge high end prices for it and don't back up their prices with service. Â Even by Chinese "call us when you need us" standards, this place was pretty bad.
Take a recent experience I had for example. Â First off, I noticed that our "free range chicken" was missing from the summary print out they put at each table. Â So I waved over the closest waiter and mentioned it.. 5 Minutes later, another waiter comes over and tells us we never ordered it. Not true but I ask politely if we can add it and just get a blank look. Â After sorting that out, our steamed sea bass comes out. Â We were out for my dad's birthday and while he's been trying to eat more fish... he's super picky about the fish he'll eat (can't be fishy tasting!). Â As we dig into our first bites, the manager comes over to ask why we ordered the sea bass when the catch of the day is fresh. Â Now, we LOVE sea bass. Â First of all, are you telling us your sea bass isn't fresh? Â O_o. Â Second, why would you tell us after the food's already been brought out? Â At that point, all it does is detract from the meal.
Get a big group together to come here, and make a reservation. You will have fun, and this place is cheaper than Phoenix or Ming Hin. And I honestly enjoy the ambiance more.
It's "Hong Kong Style Dim Sum" as my mom calls it. One big dining room, fancy/cheesy chandeliers, banquet hall style, loud, boisterous, and kind of a scene.
There is a little bit of cart service action going on, but if you come with a big group, just order off the menu to make sure you get what you want. In terms of service, expect Chinese style service which means you may have to ask multiple times for what you want, and if you want someone's attention you have to "step up" and be a little in your face with the servers - waving your hand, tapping them, stopping them in their tracks, etc... This is Chinatown people!
I never thought I'd wait so long for dim sum in my life. Ever.
But I did.
Approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.
This would've never gotten away back home.
The wait for this place scared me but I didn't want to leave without a dim sum experience in Chicago. Indeed, it was quite different than what I'm used to in New York. Like in modern restaurants in China, you check off what you want. There were clear pictures of the food, so I didn't have that "it wasn't clear" scare.
For some weird reason, people don't like to share tables here. It's like the norm in New York to share a table with like 5 other strangers. I got my mango & tapioca pudding first - isn't dessert served last?! It was quite tasty with the condensed milk, but too much artificial mango flavoring.
The shrimp with celery steamed rice noodle was a bit too thin - if they added some more paste, it would've been more delectable. Steamed rice noodle should be thick. We also had the vegetable spring roll rice noodle which was supposed to have some scallops, as stated in Chinese... couldn't even find a piece of scallop in there!
The lotus leaf wrapped with sticky rice was disappointing. It was very dry and overdone with pork.
At last, we had the "infamous" steamed creamy egg yolk bun, which is supposed to melt in your mouth with their creamy egg yolk sauce - did not do so. It was pasty, although the inside was pretty good.
Service was very fast. The food came in a matter of moments and the hostess, who was overwhelmed with the seating, had a smile on her the whole time. Such positive energy!
Service continues to be pretty good, Â Even as they had a wedding or birthday party in the main area. Â Â This time we had:
Tong Cai - Bean Curd - it's a green veggie that is really soft cooked in bean curd. It was really fresh and yummy!
Braised Oyster w/ Black Pepper - It's done in one of those heavy duty clay bowl type things. Â It was also very good. Â It's usually braised for quite a while so it takes a bit to come out but if you like Oysters, it's worth the wait.
Seafood Egg Tofu in Casserole - I was not sure why we ordered this, but it was ok. Â Honestly I'd rather have passed on it but it was well cooked. Â THe oyster one is much better imho.
Salt and Pepper Mixed Seafood - The scallop, cuttle fish, fish, shrimp variety of salt and pepper shrimp. Â It is excellent.
Salt and Pepper Shrimp w/ Shell - fans know that if you can eat the shell it's well prepared! Â You can def eat the shell here!
Brisket Beef Stew - I think it was casserole day, which a lotta chinese people like. Â This was pretty good. Â Nice soft meat and very flavorful.
Jumbo Shrimp House Mayo Sauce - One of my favorite dishes. Â Nice plump shrimp in a mayo sauce. Â Sweet creamy mayo with some walnuts to off set the texture :)
Fish Fillet w/ Mixed Mushrooms - I love fish fillets (i think it's talapia) that are cooked correctly, just the right amount of flaky tenderness.
I am still a fan of this place but since my last review was from when Cai was very new and still working out their kinks, and also because my most recent visit to Cai wasn't my happiest visit either!!! I'm writing an update and adding some tips to help make dimsum easier for everyone.
1. Don't go during 11am-1pm on weekends for dimsum. Â Don't go during 'dimsum' hours! I went with some out-of-town friends around 12pm and it was mass confusion and so very frustrating for everyone. We didn't get seated until 1245pm, after being walked to an empty table and being walked back to the door twice. :(
**Cai has two entrances and the hostesses at the doors do not talk to each other so they'll both try to seat separate parties at one table...... resulting in one party being very angry and having to walk back to their spots in line.**
2. If you must go between 11am-1pm, MAKE A RESERVATION (yes, they take reservations!) or you will be standing in line for a long while and watch people who did make reservations get seated before you even though you have been standing there for 45+ minutes. You will be very angry and upset just like everyone else that was standing in line with my group of starving tourists waiting to be seated.
3. They have updated their menus. Now every item comes with a picture......... for the foreigners, dimsum virgins, and the ABC who speak English better than their home language. Hooraay for everyone!
4. This tip I really don't want to include because it would only make parking harder for me... but they validate parking!!! Park in the two paid parking lots at the Cermak & Archer crossroads. Validated parking is only $2 for 3 hours. Much cheaper than metered parking.
Ok, I have done my good deed for the day. :)
This new kid on the block is alright and gonna be alright. Still have some rookie bugs to iron out like keep those water glasses filled and a little more jelly fish please in your ping poon.
Portions are generous and taste of their banquet food is very good. Notables are the double lobster, pea pod tips, eee-fu noodles, and roast squab (I normally am not a big fan of squab).
Dining room is bright and decor above Chinatown par but very noisy and the flat screen TV adds to the chaos as well as cheapens the look. But if you're going leave the TV on, put on some good sports will ya!
We were here for a wedding reception during the Nato summit. Yeah, the traffic was lousy and it was a mess when we tried to find a place to park. Fortunately, we had a great dinner. The newlywed couple will be happily every after....
Appetizers:
Roasted duck
Lobster fruit salad.
Both appetizers were excellent. Roasted duck had the crispy skin with flavorful tender meat. Lobster fruit salad was a new dish to me. Lobster was fresh and delicious with the sweet fruits. Kind of summertime dish.
Entrees:
Stir Fried Seafood
Braised whole chicken
Beef with asparagus and celery
Steamed whole fish
Fired noodles
Fried rice
My personal favorites were Stir Fried seafood and Beef. Both were cooked in a traditional Cantonese way. The mixed seafood was covered very light  gravy which allowed me to taste the freshness even the sweetness of the seafood. Beef was tender and the veggies were fresh too.
The service was very attentive and quick. I will go back to try their dim sum as I read so many nice things on Yelp.
Tried dim sum here for the first time last Saturday with some visiting friends. Â We were anticipating a wait since we arrived late morning, but were seated immediately. Â It was busy but not too crowded. Â Nobody was hovering around our table waiting for us to leave, unlike at some other dim sum places we've been.
I liked how they had a big colorful sheet with photos of each dim sum item and boxes to select what we wanted plus a selection of specialty items on the back page. Â I prefer this type of dim sum to the "pointing at the items on the carts" so it's made to order (and probably fresher).
My favorite item is the fried dough wrapped in rice crepe. Â Here, they actually cut up the dough so it's easy to pull apart and dip in the sauce. Â The salt and pepper fish was fantastic..the batter light, crispy, airy and perfectly seasoned with spices. Â The shrimp and pork dumplings were okay, nothing to write home about. Â The fried noodles were very tasty...almost better than my favorite at Chi Cafe.
Tables and decor pretty nice for a dim sum place. Â Waitstaff responsive and attentive. Â The bathrooms were clean and well maintained. Â Overall a great first impression. Â Our guests were satisfied!
We went there so many times as a chinese family and we received immediate service and good food.
however
we went this past saturday and it was different. we were a multiracial group and we were ignored the whole time. i had to wave the server down at least 5 times, and all the other servers ignored us and kept walking by.
the host ended up yelling at our server for not having a ticket on the table at all, which he ended up finding on a nearby empty table. We then said we'd leave if the food is not here in 10 minutes, which promptly showed up in 8 minutes.
meanwhile, no water refills, no being checked on.
Don't tell me that "the kitchen is busy" when everyone (asian) around us got food right away.
no "i'm sorry" and expected tips.
classy.
racist people!!!
I recently had dinner at Cai upon the invitation of a couple of relatives and their colleagues. They had enjoyed dim sum here and wanted to come again for dinner. Although I did not get to choose any of the items other than the chow mein (I always like to get chow mein, although my relatives razz me for always picking so standard a dish), I did like the food items I tried. The best dish was a semi-spicy plate of chicken and mango, which went well with the white rice. There was also an egg dish that is sort of an omelet in a bowl. The desserts were a mung bean soup, a warm and sweet soup that was actually better than what I am used to with dessert soups, and some sort of golden-hued jello cubes that were tasty too. I'd like to try the dim sum at Cai, as I hear it's very good here. Â
Kudos to Weisun for the spot-on description of Cai's exact location - he is like GPS for Chinatown Square.
Went for Dim Sum for my mom's bday and her friend picked Cai (next to Citibank in Chinatown). I usually go to Phoenix across the street but I love to try a new place so I obliged.
First impression was good, nicely covered chairs, panoramic windows, clean and I heard it's pretty new. It would be a good place to have a reception because it is huge and nicely decorated. I am not sure if the food price is comparable because my mom's friend paid and we never saw the check. I am assuming it is comparable to other Dim Sum restaurants.
The food was comparable to Phoenix and I enjoyed it. My companions really like the chicken feet if you are into that. Â I guess its the softest and tastiest out there. I don't eat it but like they say "don't knock it 'til you try it" but I just never had the desire to try them.
Salt & pepper fish was too salty in my opinion.
Dislikes? Service was lacking. It's made to order and I understand it's not as quick but they didn't check if we were alright, if we needed water or if we needed anything. We had to repeatedly call for them.
Thanks to An and his monthly dim sum event, I finally had an excuse to try another dim sum place. Â This place was on my list, as Hungry Hound said their egg yolk filled buns were exquisite. Â
At 2 pm, the dining area was relatively filled, but there was no wait, even though our table was reserved with other Yelpers. Â The jasmine tea here was outstandingly brewed strong, with no complaints here from this caffeine junkie. Â Ordering was easy, and they kept our water glasses filled to the brim the entire time. Â You ordered from the menu, and they brought it to the table, as opposed to the dim sum method of waiting for carts to come around. Â I actually prefer the order method, as it's faster than hoping the next cart has the dim sum item you want.
Pieces were fairly large, and steamed wonderfully. Â We didn't have a rubbery chew problem, as this is sometimes the case with larger dim sum items. Â AND to my benefit, they also had my favorite seaweed rolls on the menu. Â They were pretty good, but not as crispy as Phoenix's. Â I was just happy they offered seaweed rolls here! Â The egg yolk buns were rich, and more of a sweet item than savory, so save this for end of your meal if you're funny about eating dessert at the beginning. Â
Parking is relatively easy. Â When I came back on a second trip the following week, per Ericka's review, my dining party parked in the private lot and Cai validates parking to make it only $2! Score
Oh , and the bathrooms here are clean, spacious and very modern. Just a tip for all of you who fret to go to the bathroom on their China Town journeys.
Average price with tip $15. Â How can you beat that?
Dim Sum is basically the Asian equivalent of Spanish Tapas. It's a great idea for lunch or dinner because you can eat a little or you can eat a lot. Each of the items come in small portions, so you can mix-n-match to your heart's content. You also don't have to worry about the veg-heads among your friends and family because there are quite a number of meat-free dishes to choose from.
About sixteen of us came to Cai for An P.'s "Romance of the Three Dim Sums." Eleven of us sat at one table and began to check off all the plates we wanted to order. When they arrived, it was pretty clear our eyes were bigger than our stomachs and we feared we had ordered way too much food and would have a huge bill. Not the case! Everyone attacked the plates in a feeding frenzy that would put Shark Week to shame. We pretty much cleared off the table except for a few mini takeout boxes worth of leftovers. They also made splitting the bill easy peasy as the price including a 10%, 15% or 20% suggested tip is calculated for you below the total amount. What was our damage? $25 per person (total+tax+tip)! What a steal!
My favorite dishes were the BBQ Pork Bao, Shrimp & Chive Dumplings, Chicken & Taro Spring Rolls and Pork & Shrimp Dumplings. I wish I could remember what else I ate, but it was just soooooooo much food. I tried the Egg Custard and loved the pastry part of it. I didn't try the Chicken Feet because they still freak me out a little. I kinda wish I hadn't tried the Radish Cake. Something about the consistency really stopped me in my tracks. It's very gelatinous and pasty at the same time. I quickly popped another Dumpling in my mouth to make up for it. Also, the Jasmin Tea perfectly complemented the meal. It was light but still flavorful.
Parking in the area isn't too bad. You might get lucky and snag a free spot about a block away or so, but there are plenty of metered spaces on the nearby streets and a pay-to-park lot across the street. Cai validates parking, making it $2 instead of $9 when we were there almost 3 hours.
Come Dim Sum and then Dim Sum more!
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